KKR Bets $1.5B on Europe’s AI Data Center Growth as Global Technical Realty Increases

In response to the increasing demand for cloud and infrastructure, KKR and Oak Hill are investing more money in Global Technical Realty to hasten the expansion of AI-ready data centers throughout Europe.

In a wager that the region, which is far behind the US, will continue to see a surge in demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, private capital group KKR is investing $1.5 billion into its European data center platform.

Oak Hill Capital made a $400 million investment in addition to an equity investment for London-based Global Technical Realty. Custom-built data centers are developed and run by the company; tenants supply their own equipment.

In 2020, KKR joined forces with data center entrepreneur Franek Sodzawiczny to establish GTR, investing $1 billion in its first stages. As demand for data centers soars due to growing cloud and AI infrastructure requirements, GTR's valuation is anticipated to reach the mid-single-digit billions following new investments.

KKR's worldwide head of digital infrastructure, Waldemar Szlezak, stated that they want to keep growing this industry since they see a huge pipeline. While the US industry has been booming for a while, Europe is making a concerted effort to catch up in terms of AI infrastructure development.

In addition to spending over $350 billion on data centers last year, US IT companies Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have vowed to spend over $400 billion this year.

Szlezak stated that GTR would utilize the additional funding to expand its facilities in Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Zurich, and the south of England. Additionally, GTR intends to investigate possible mergers and acquisitions and use the funds to finance the construction of future locations. He also mentioned the prospect of expanding into areas like Italy and the Nordic region.

The company was drawn to GTR, according to Adam Hahn, partner at Oak Hill, in part because of its strategy of operating locations close to population centers and its sizable, excellent cloud and technology clientele.

KKR has been quite active in the data center industry; in 2021, it acquired US operator CyrusOne for $15 billion, which was the biggest take-private transaction in the industry. It made the first of up to $50 billion in possible joint investments in July when it teamed up with Energy Capital Partners to build a significant data center in suburban Dallas.

According to Synergy Research Group, data center M&A is still robust, with 287 transactions totaling more than $77 billion in 2024 and $81 billion already negotiated or completed in 2025. The acquisition of NorthC by Antin Infrastructure Partners and the introduction of a data center-focused growth plan by Brookfield Asset Management are examples of recent actions.